doctorate

American  

[dok-ter-it] / ˈdɒk tər ɪt /

noun

• doctorates
  plural

1. any of several academic degrees of the highest rank, as the Ph.D. or Ed.D., awarded by universities and some colleges for completing advanced work in graduate school or a professional school.

2. an honorary degree conferring the title of doctor upon the recipient, as with the LL.D. degree.

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doctorate British  

/ ˈdɒktərɪt, -trɪt /

noun

1. Also called: doctor's degree. the highest academic degree in any field of knowledge

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• predoctorate
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• doctorates
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of doctorate

First recorded in 1670–80; from Medieval Latin doctōrātus; see doctor, -ate ³

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Explanation

A doctorate is an advanced university degree. Another name for a doctorate is a PhD. If you stick in school long enough, you just might end up with a doctorate (and a whole lot of debt). Many years of specialized study can result in a doctorate, which qualifies the graduate to teach at a college or university. To be awarded a doctorate, a student has to complete a dissertation or thesis, a huge research project that focuses on her area of study. Someone who has a doctorate is known as a "Doctor of Philosophy," and the word itself comes from the Medieval Latin root doctoratus, or "made a doctor."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

doctorate doctorates

Backshall studied at Canterbury Christ Church, carrying out research into venoms from amphibians, and later received an honorary doctorate from the university.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

“We learned nothing from social media,” said Nataliya Kosmyna, a visiting researcher at Google with a doctorate in human-computer interactions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

A native of Ireland, Madigan earned a mathematics degree and a doctorate in statistics from Trinity College Dublin and worked in insurance and technology consulting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

After completing her doctorate, Ruane worked with Austin at LSU in 2016.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

He did return in 1995, however, to earn his doctorate degree.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

Many college grads pursue doctorates to escape the real world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

That is the entire story, and there are people with doctorates who cannot say it out loud.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

Recipients of honorary doctorates tend not to use the Dr honorific despite technically being able to out of deference to those who have undertaken the academic work to receive a PhD.

From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2025

Lifetime Achievement Award and honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and the University of Massachusetts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2025

Elbert Frank Cox and Dudley Weldon Woodard, the first two Negroes to earn doctorates in mathematics, with degrees from Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively, ran the department.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

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